Healthcare workers to be balloted for industrial action in coming weeks

Two of the biggest unions representing healthcare workers in Ireland have announced that they will ballot thier member for industrial action.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) announced this Thursday that they intend to ballot their members over the HSE’s recruitment moratorium and the impact it is having on staffing across the public health service.

Fórsa trade union, which represents more than 30,000 workers in Ireland’s health services, annouced they will also ballot their members for industrial action.

Members of Fórsa will also take part in a series of lunchtime protests from next Thursday, October 3, as ballot preparations get underway.

INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that the HSE’s "baseless recruitment moratorium has led to further levels of unsafe staffing right across our public health service, from the community to our acute hospitals", and that the INMO has been left "with no other option but to now ballot our members".

"The moratorium has led to over 2,000 vacancies in the health service, which means services and wards across Ireland are understaffed which is having a detrimental impact on patient care."

Fórsa, Ireland’s largest public service trade union, said the ballot and protests are being organised in response to the ongoing dispute between unions and the HSE and Department of Health, specifically in relation to the thousands of unfilled posts the HSE has effectively scrapped.

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The publication of the HSE’s pay and numbers strategy in July revealed that thousands of frontline positions had been suppressed, affecting community and acute health services, mental health and services to older people.

Fórsa said that pressures on services are set to get worse as demand rises in the months ahead, while existing staff are forced to cope with an insufficient complement of staff in most departments.

A recent Fórsa survey of its members working in health services attracted almost 4,000 responses, evenly divided between clerical/administrative staff and health and social care professionals (HSCPs), with 88% of respondents confirming vacancies in their departments since December 2023.

A further 42% (1,538) of respondents confirmed that the number of vacancies in their departments had increased since December 2023.

Fórsa official Linda Kelly said health staff responses revealed a demoralised workforce, coping with the additional pressures of vacant posts in their departments, but acutely aware of how it is affecting waiting times and service delivery.

“Our members are protesting and balloting for action because they are fighting to protect services, fighting to improve them, and determined that the HSE and Department of Health will listen,” Ms Kelly said.

“In continuing their moratorium through extremely limiting recruitment caps, the HSE have gone too far and are imposing restrictions so severe, broken staffing agreements, and disregarded the working conditions you now are expected to provide care in," Ms Ní Sheaghdha continued. 

"As safety critical professionals we cannot tolerate this impact on patient and staff safety any longer."

“For too long the goodwill of nurses and midwives has been taken for granted. It's time to call a halt and together with our colleagues in other trade unions exercise our rights to say, ‘This is a step too far, and we will not tolerate it’,” she concluded.

The Fórsa ballot will commence in the week of October 14.